11 Days in the Pacific Northwest: Seattle, Victoria, Vancouver
Contents
Seattle (5 days)
Friday: Arrival
- Arrival: I immediately noticed the diversity around me at the airport - so many different people and languages. A convenient 40 minute light rail ride later, I was already in the city.
- Dinner: After meeting with the friend hosting me, we went to Ginger & Scallion. Cucumber salad was skippable (good but nothing special), chicken wings were great, and hainanese chicken rice was the star of the show.
Saturday: First Full Day
- Brunch: Dimsum at Harbor City Restaurant, and a fun time meeting my friend’s friends.
- REI: Bought some gear for our upcoming hike. The flagship store was huge and quite beautiful.
- Catch-up: Met up with my former coworker and his family at an indoor kids’ playground, then grabbed a quick dinner at Café Hagen. It was lovely to meet his family for the first time, after working together remotely for many years through the pandemic.
- Evening: Took a fun little swing dance class in Fremont.
Sunday: Mt. Rainier
- Early Start: Left for Mt. Rainier at 6am and arrived with no line for cars entering the park, which my friend said they had endured the previous time.
- Hike: Hiked part of the Skyline loop and returned via the Alta Vista trail, covering around 5-6 miles. The Alta Vista trail was our favorite part. Absolutely beautiful.
- Lunch: My friend packed ramen and hot water for a post-hike meal. It was delicious but my weak spice tolerance led me to buy a chili dog at the visitor center. 10/10.
- Dinner: Seolleongtang (ox bone soup) at Yi’s Traditional Korean Beef Soup was the perfect way to end the day.
Monday: Tourist Day
- Pike Place Market: Walked around the market and window-shopped in the area.
- Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour: Fun and educational. Learned that Seattle was built one story up due to a history of flooding.
- Dinner: Met with an old friend who shared about his experience in Seattle for the past several years. Walking around downtown in the evening felt safer than I expected.
Tuesday: Neighborhood Hopping
- Queen Anne: Stopped by Kerrie Park for an amazing view of the city and Mt. Rainier.
- Fremont: Wandered around, stopping at Wonderland Gear Exchange and Fremont Vintage Mall.
- Green Lake: Took a bus there just as school let out. It warmed my heart to see the diversity of middle schoolers on board. It was peaceful to walk along the lake.
- Dinner: An incredible meal at Kedai Makan in Capitol Hill, and a wonderful catch-up with a college friend. The creamy vegan coconut milkshake is a must.
Wednesday: Ferry Ride to Victoria
- Morning Ferry: Took the 8am Clipper ferry. I slept most of the 3 hour ride.
Victoria (2 days)
Wednesday: Arrival in Victoria
- Immigration: A negative encounter with the officer who mansplained me on the dangers of staying in a hostel amongst other things, but I made it through.
- Transit: Chose Uber over the bus after the officer warned me I was going to “the most dangerous part of the city”, but had a lovely driver who assured me I’d be be safe. Also, the area was totally fine. Houseless people were simply trying to exist nearby.
- Got my steps in: After dropping my luggage off at Ocean Island Hostel, checked out thrift shops nearby. Strolled through the scenic inner harbor and the Legislative Assembly. Saw a peacock in Beacon Hill Park. Walked to Chinatown, with many restaurants, shops, and historic buildings.
- Dinner: Enjoyed dinner at the hostel and had a nice chat with a traveler from Calgary named Owen. We talked about Canadian and American differences and urban planning.
Thursday: A Full Day in Victoria
- Butchart Gardens: A convenient hour-long bus dropped me off at the gardens. The gardens were absolutely stunning. I spent a few hours here and ate lunch at their coffee shop.
- Royal BC Museum: An extensive and well-done exhibit on Stongehenge. A security guard named Sam gave me a personal tour of his favorite parts of the Old Town exhibit. He shared that he’s originally from Venezuala and just received his permanent residency, after 5 years in Canada. Interactions like this make me believe in humanity.
- Poutine: Caught live music and ate poutine from a food truck at the marina. The folks gave me an extra serving after finding out it was my first time in Canada and eating poutine. I’m officially on team poutine.
- Evening: The lights of the Legislative Building were worth going back for after dark.
Friday: Ferry to Vancouver
- Morning: Grabbed a sandwich near the hostel at Macchiato Caffe. Many options, and very yummy.
- Ferry Ride: Off to Vancouver!
Vancouver (4 days)
Friday: Travel Day
- Transit: The journey from Victoria to Vancouver took about ~6 hours in total via public transit including wait time, but was smooth and very affordable.
- 1 hr bus from hostel to Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal (Victoria) →
- 1 hr wait because one of the ferries was out of service →
- 1.5 hr ferry ride to Twassawen Ferry Terminal (Vancouver)→
- 1 hr bus ride to metro station (without traffic, 35 min) →
- 20 min metro ride →
- 15 min walk to final destination
- I was in no rush and am in favor of utilizing public transit, so this was no problem for me. However, the bus ride from the ferry terminal into Vancouver was very squished with everyone’s suitcases on board.
- Dinner: After meeting up with the friend hosting me, we ate at Tozen Sushi Bar, which was possibly the best Japanese food I’ve ever had in North America. Every dish was perfection. My favorite was the salmon aburi hako (hakozushi = a type of sushi made by filling a square wooden box with sushi rice) and creamy udon.
Saturday: Exploring Granville Island
- Brunch: Met my friend’s friend, and we started the day with a stroll around City Square Shopping Centre followed by eggs benedict at Yolks. I loved chatting about Canadian and American politics, similarities, and differences.
- Granville Island: Shopped at the public market. Donuts from Lee’s were pretty darn good.
- Robson Street: Window shopped vintage stores, k-pop albums, and the world’s largest Aritzia.
- Dinner: Tsukemen at Menya ITTO was rich and delicious. I’ve had a hard time finding Tsukemen in the Bay Area, and was so pleased with this meal.
Sunday: Biking Stanley Park
- Bike Ride: Hands down one of my favorite parts of the trip! A beautiful ride around Stanley Park with breathtaking views. Took a couple hours to make our way around the park, with several stops. I didn’t ride bikes as a kid, so I was a bit nervous, but the bike path was wide and flat.
- Dinner: Galbi tang was great at Sura Korean Cuisine.
- Downtown: Helped my friend browse furniture downtown and thrifted at Value Village Boutique.
Monday: Last Day!
- Breakfast: Relaxing start with a wrap and turmeric drink from DALINA Broadway.
- Hadden Park: Walked along the waterfront, loved looking out at the skyline.
- Museum of Vancouver: Learned about the city’s history and First Nations population.
- Lunch: Ate a Montreal smoked meat sandwich at Siegel’s Bagels - hit the spot.
- Kitsilano Beach Park: Finished the trip with another peaceful walk before heading to the airport.
Public Transit
Seattle
- I initially downloaded the “Transit Go” app to buy a mobile ticket for the link light rail from the airport into the city. It was good I did, because I missed where to tap my Orca card before boarding the train, and transit workers later checked for tickets.
- I also got an Orca card in case there were issues with the Transit Go app. I used the “Orca” app to load my card, but you can also load it at metro stations.
- With the Orca app, you can get a $6 day pass to ride any transit in the city. The Transit Go app’s day passes do not works across different transit modes (bus, light rail, etc.)
Victoria
- The city doesn’t use physical transit cards. Rather, they use an app called “Umo”. You must load at least $5 at a time (a poor design because visitors are likely to have a leftover balance)
- You scan the app QR code when you enter a bus. Generally it worked well, but was not able to scan for me once. The bus driver let me board anyways.
- Very easy to get to Butchart Garden via the 75 bus, ~45 minute ride.
- Very easy to get to Swartz Ferry via the 70 bus, ~1 hour ride.
Vancouver
- By far the easiest transit system of the whole trip. You can get a Compass Card, or simply use any contactless payment option (Apple Pay, credit card, etc.)
- Transit from Twassawen Ferry terminal into the city was a short journey:
- 35 minute bus ride via the 620 Bridgeport Express to Bridgeport Station (metro). Traffic made this closer to an hour.
- 20 minute train ride on the Canada Line (metro)
- 15 minute walk (or short bus ride) to final destination
- Transit from city center to the airport was quick and easy. Simply hopped on the Canada Line.
Accomodations
I was lucky to be hosted by friends in Seattle and Vancouver.
Victoria: Ocean Island Hostel
- I stayed in a private double room. I also looked at Airbnbs, but they were not downtown.
- I’ve stayed in hostels all over Europe and Asia. They’re a great, affordable option, of course with tradeoffs. I recommend reading reviews on aspects that matter most to you (cleanliness, etc.)
- Had some initial concerns on the area, but upon arrival, it felt completely safe. There’s a homeless encampment nearby on Pandora and Quandra. I have lived in major cities, and do not believe that homeless communities directly equate to danger. Of course it’s important to still be mindful, especially after dark.
- The older building has little sound insulation, but I had no problem sleeping with earplugs.
- The hostel includes a simple breakfast and dinner. The dinners had 2 options each time, such as chili, dahl, and chickpea curry. It was actually quite good!
- There were many different ages of people staying here which I loved seeing.
Costs
| Travel Expense | Cost (USD) |
|---|---|
| Flight from Santa Barbara to Seattle | 15k miles, plus $5.60 |
| Ferry from Seattle to Victoria | $102.70 |
| Ferry from Victoria to Vancouver | $14.08 |
| Flight from Vancouver to Santa Barbara | 15k miles, plus $55.11 |
| Victoria Hostel (2 nights) | $159.74 |
| Travel Insurance | $30 |
| Seattle public transit | $18 |
| Victoria public transit | $7.38 |
| Vancouver public transit | $18.66 |
| Ubers (3 in total) | $57.21 |
| Entertainment Expense | Cost (USD) |
|---|---|
| Seattle Underground Tour | $22 |
| Butchart Gardens Entry | $30.60 |
| Royal BC Museum Entry | $22.08 |
Total: $543.16 plus 30k miles (equivalent to ~$360)
Not included: gifts, meals, shopping
Overall thoughts
I loved this trip. The amount of time spent in each city was perfect. Everything I ate somehow tasted better than it normally does, especially true in Vancouver. I also loved learning about Canadian history and politics.
I am grateful for the relationships I have formed over the years, that led to friends generously hosting me and many catch-ups along the way. It was special to deepen these friendships and see my friends’ day to day lives.
I visited Seattle to see if I can imagine living there, and I definitely can. This last-minute trip booked just a couple weeks prior, turned into a wonderful 11 days.
AI transparency: I inputted my trip notes into ChatGPT with the following prompt: write this into an easy-to-read and organized blog post. I used the structure as a starting point, then heavily edited the output to change content, add details, and write it in my own voice.